Ice On A Wounded Heart
by gaarafan0509
Summary: Squad 3 AKA Misfit Squad has finally returned to Konoha after 3 years,just in time for the Chuunin exams, where they meet our favorite sand trio. Anger arises between some, and between others, love and compassion. GaaraOc TemariOc KankuroOc
1. Chapter 1

Squad 3 (AKA Misfit Squad) has finally returned to Konoha after 3 years. They arrive just in time for the Chuunin exams, where they meet our favorite sand trio. Anger arises between some, and between others, love and compassion. Originally GaaraOc (Hints the title) but ended up GaaraOc, KankuroOc and TemariOc. Slight SakuraSasuke but not much. Tell me what you think.

Character Profiles: Squad 3

Name: Yuukai Karite

Age: 15

Eyes: piercing yellow

Hair: midnight blue, long, down, two pieces frame her face

Clothing: a loose blue tee shirt that ends at the belly button, her remaining stomach is covered with bandages from an accident during her mission, wears simple black Capri's and sandals, kunai pouch, choker with clan symbol on it, headband around neck. White mask with yellow symbol of reaper on the forehead with black streaks, like fire, that stream all the way down

Weapons: scythe, ninjutsu

Background: She is the last remaining member of the Karite clan thanks to someone who raided her village and killed everyone. This person, however, could not kill her due to the curse that was put among him by her people. They made sure that he couldn't harm her, and that she'd live on to defeat him and get her revenge.

Name: Boutoku Yuuhi

Age: 16

Eyes: same as Kurenai's, red

Hair: pitch black with red highlights. Sort of long, cuts off at shoulders

Clothing: simple black yukata top outlined in red, plain black pants (like Kakashi's). He has the kanji for blood written on the back in red, carries around a sheathe for his blade, headband around forehead

Weapons: Shishio, genjutsu

Background: Kurenai's sister, lives with her. His sword is his main source of chakra; He must offer his own chakra to the sword that in return gives him a demonic chakra, which is 10 times stronger. However, if Boutoku absorbs too much of it, then the sword itself possesses him.

Name: Koutsetsu Kusabana

Age: 12

Eyes: light blue

Hair: pitch black with dark blue tips, long down to shoulders

Clothing: solid black dress, off the shoulder, long sleeved, blue sash and blue shorts underneath, kunai pouch

Weapons: ice/water ninjutsu

Background: Possessed by the female 3 tailed bird demon known as Hitori, she is known and feared by all, at least she was. She actually gets along with her demon and can keep her under control for the most part. Most people are weary around her, but they still talk to her. She has a personality that grows on you and she's left quite an impact on the village's people. (Sounds like someone you know? XD) She's a nice girl and people like her and they've learned to trust her seeing as she wouldn't stop until they did. She's very outgoing and is not afraid to speak what she thinks.

Name: Kuwo

Age: 24

Eyes: emerald green

Hair: bleach blonde, tied in a ponytail

Clothing: jounin outfit

Weapons: plants, ninjutsu (he hardly ever fights in the story)

Background: Jounin sensei to Squad 3, total chick magnet, hits on Boutoku's sister that pisses both of them off, good leader for the most part, smart. Hangs out with Kakashi a lot. (Trouble. no?)


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1-Ice on A Wounded Heart

"It's about time we get to go home. It's been like 3 years hasn't it?" Yuukai spoke talking to her sensei.

"Yep. When I accepted the mission I had no clue that it would last this long. Oh well, you three did great and your wound should be close to healed by now." Kuwo spoke.

"Who would of thought that that one guy would have so many minions? I think I lost count at like 200 something." Kousetsu spoke thoughtfully.

"There was a lot of bloodshed, I don't think I've ever seen Shishio so happy before." Boutoku spoke.

"Who? Oh! That creepy sword you have." Yuukai spoke.

"You're saying that it's creepy, but having your clan's spirits talk to and follow you isn't?" he spoke grinning.

"No not really. They make good company." She spoke smiling. "Plus it's better than not being able to see them at all." She then spoke sadly. She felt him put his hand on her shoulder, as did Kuwo. She then saw how Kousetsu stopped and turned around.

"We may not be family, but we're as close as we can get to it. We act as a team; we help and protect each other because we care. That's what friends are for, don't ever doubt that." Kousetsu spoke smiling. Yuukai smiled.

"Thanks." She spoke. "So who's ready to go home?" she suddenly spoke. Everyone raised his or her hands. "How about we go get some ramen at that place by the corner, what was its name again?" she spoke as they entered the village after 3 long years.

"I don't know, but I gotta go report back to the Hokage. He's probably wondering where the hell we went." Kuwo spoke before poofing off.

-------------Jounin--------------

Kuwo suddenly appeared in the office. When he got there, he saw his old friend Kakashi there too, and he was talking to Iruka.

"Hey, we're back, after 3 fucking years." Kuwo spoke as he walked up to them.

"Took you long enough." Kakashi spoke.

"You completed it, right?" Iruka spoke.

"You know, we came so close, but then he got away." Kuwo spoke sarcastically.

"Stop fooling around, you idiot. So did you?" Iruka spoke impatiently.

"Yeah, yeah. Yuukai got cut up pretty badly when we were there though." Kuwo spoke.

"Is she ok?" Iruka spoke.

"Oh, yeah, she's fine." He spoke laughing. "That girl is so stubborn and she got her ass kicked because of it."

"Why am I not surprised." Iruka spoke rubbing his temples.

"The Karite girl?" Kakashi spoke.

"Yeah, her."

"And Boutoku and Kousetsu?"

"They're fine. Kousetsu's gotten a lot stronger, and I mean a lot. Boutoku is the same."

"Oh yeah, you were the one who got the misfit squad, right?"

"I wouldn't say that, but yeah kinda." Kuwo spoke laughing slightly. "They're a handful, that's for sure." Suddenly a bird flew in, giving Kakashi a note.

"The Chuunin exams? Already?" Kakashi spoke.

"I guess I'll go with you, I've got nothing else to do." Kuwo spoke as they left.

------------Squad 3-----------

"Nothing looks like it's changed. A few new faces, but that's it." Yuukai commented. The suddenly saw someone start running towards them. It appeared to be a trio of academy students running towards them along with some kid in and orange jumpsuit. They simply moved to the side as the mini stampede went by, followed by some angry looking girl with pink hair.

"Ok?" Yuukai spoke slowly.

"I wanna see this." Kousetsu spoke as she ran towards him. The other two took off after her. When they got there, they saw one of the kids being held by his scarf by some weird looking guy in a black jumpsuit. Next to him was a girl with four pigtails.

"That hurt, snot face!" he spoke.

"Knock it off. You're gonna get it as it is!" the girl spoke.

"It was my fault. I was fooling around…." The pink haired girl spoke.

"Like it's any of you concern, bitch." Kankuro responded before making a fist. Suddenly the kid in the orange jumpsuit ran towards him. Kankuro simply created a chakra string and tripped him. He then felt someone tugging at his pants. He looked down to see ghostly arms trying to pull him down.

"Let him go or you'll end up like them." Yuukai spoke. Kankuro immediately let him go, feeling the arms stop and disappear.

"You're a freak, you know that?" Kankuro spoke glaring at her.

"That means a lot from some makeup wearing, black suited (even though he's from the fking desert), kitty man who picks on kids that are like a quarter of their size." Yuukai spoke smirking.

"And since when do other shinobi just invite themselves into our village?" Boutoku spoke glaring.

"When we're taking the Chuunin exams." A girl with 4 pigtails spoke glaring back.

"The chuunin exams?" Kousetsu suddenly asked. The other 2 were also curious. She also noticed a boy up in the tree and stared at him until he looked at her.

"Why are you up there and not with your squad?" she asked curiously. The boy said nothing as he jumped down and walked over to his squad.

_-Not very social. That's for sure, kinda cute though. - _Kousetsu thought. She then noticed the Uchiha fan on his back and smirked. She walked over to sit underneath the tree and listen to what they were talking about.

"You don't know? The exams start in 2 days, guess you guys weren't good enough to get in." Temari spoke smirking.

"Or perhaps we just got back from a fucking 3 year mission." Yuukai spoke glaring.

"That's it. I'm taking Karasu out." Kankuro spoke as he pulled off the thing on his back.

"I'm not involved with this." Temari spoke backing off.

"So you wanna fight me then?" Yuukai spoke smirking. Suddenly Boutoku stepped in front of her.

"Don't worry Yuukai, I'll fight him for you. Shishio just couldn't wait to come out again." Boutoku spoke as he placed his hand on its handle. Suddenly they felt their hands freeze. Kankuro's hand was covered with ice, so he couldn't move it or make chakra strings with it. Boutoku's was frozen onto his handle, so he could've still fought but he had more morality than that.

"Knock it off, Yuukai, Boutoku, they are our guests. Treat them like it. And you," she spoke pointing at Kankuro, "should learn some self control. You're in our village now, so I expect for you to respect us and not cause trouble while you're in it." Kousetsu spoke glaring.

"Kankuro you're an embarrassment to our entire village. Let's go." An unknown voice spoke. Everyone turned around to see a boy hanging upside-down. He had reddish brown hair and mint green eyes. He also had a tattoo over his left eye. Kousetsu was standing right next to him and simply looked at him. They locked eyes for a minute, and then he turned back towards Kankuro. He then disappeared and reappeared on the ground between them. He began to walk away with the others.

"Wait! What's your name?" Sasuke commented.

"Who me?" Temari asked blushing.

"No, the spook with the gourd." He commented. The mentioned boy turned around.

"Sabaku No Gaara. And you are?"

"Uchiha Sasuke." He spoke. He then turned to the girl that was standing behind him.

"Oh! I'm Kusabana Kousetsu. Pretty long, don't you think?" she spoke laughing slightly.

_-This one's cuter though-_she thought.

_-That's the one, the one with the Hitori- _Shukaku spoke in his mind.

_­-She looks like a normal person, and she has friends. Why is that?-_ he asked himself. He then heard someone talking and snapped out of it.

"So, you're Kankuro, and you're Gaara, but who are you?" Boutoku spoke pointing to Temari.

"I'm Sabaku No Temari. The 3 of us are siblings."

"And you're the oldest?" Yuukai spoke curiously.

"How could you tell?"

"Kankuro is way too immature to be any older than like 10." Yuukai spoke smirking. Kankuro gave her the finger and Temari laughed.

"We'll see ya whenever, I guess." Kousetsu spoke waving.


	3. Chapter 3

The group was walking down to the ramen bar when Yuukai felt a pulsating feeling in her left hand. She looked in the corner of her eye to see 3 figures jumping off. Her eyes narrowed.

"What is it? Did you see something?" Naruto spoke.

"I don't think so. I need to relax, the mission is over." Yuukai spoke laughing slightly.

"You were the group that was sent to track down and assassinate that Feudal Lord who was also the drug leader for a large underground organization. Am I right?" Kakashi spoke.

"Yeah. We basically had to kill off the entire village because everyone supported him. Together we killed over two hundred." Yuukai spoke.

"Wait, but you were only gennin when you got that mission. How in the hell were you able to go?" Sasuke spoke.

"We're a lot stronger than we look." Kousetsu spoke.

"You know, I've been curious as to how strong you guys have actually gotten. Kuwo just won't shut up about you three. I was wondering if you'd like to have a sparring session tomorrow at about 9 o'clock. We'll meet you guys at the bridge. What do you say?" Kakashi spoke.

"Yeah."

"Ok."

"So, how many missions have you guys done so far?" Yuukai asked while eating her ramen. She ate her noodles so fast that she could compete with Naruto who noticed and glared.

"Do you think that you can beat me in a ramen contest or something?" he spoke pointing to her.

"Probably. Bring it on shrimp." Yuukai spoke smirking. Kakashi sighed as he looked at the couple.

"Great, another Naruto." Kakashi spoke sighing.

"What's wrong with that?" Kousetsu spoke. She then noticed the weird looks that she got from everyone and sweatdropped. "Uh, never mind then."

"Well, as I was saying. We've completed a lot of D-Rank missions, and we had one C-Rank that ended up being an A-Ranked." Kakashi spoke. "All of them did excellent, I'm proud of them."

"What was it?" Kousetsu spoke finishing her bowl. She then looked over to see Naruto and Yuukai still eating. This was their 4th bowl. She smacked Yuukai on the head.

"Stop eating or you'll get sick. Go ahead, I'm listening."

"It was supposed to be a simple escort to the Land Of Waves, but we wound up fighting Zabuza Momochi."

"That must've sucked." Kousetsu spoke.

"Sasuke gave us a real scare when we were there though." Naruto spoke.

"What'd he do?"

"He got himself killed. At least, that's what we thought until he came back to life." Naruto spoke.

"He never died, you moron he was put in a death state." Sakura spoke.

"Well you thought he was dead too." Naruto responded.

"He was never dead, if he was, I'd know, ok?" Yuukai spoke.

"Oh yeah, I guess you would." Naruto spoke. "Do dead people talk to you?"

"Of course." Yuukai spoke.

"Can you bring people back to life?"

"Under certain circumstances, yes." She spoke slightly irritated.

"Can yo--?"

"Naruto quit bothering her. Can't you see she's getting mad?" Sasuke spoke.

"Oops, sorry." Naruto spoke.

"It's ok."

"Can I ask you a question?" Sakura spoke. Yuukai sighed before nodding. "You said you were the last member of your clan, why is that?" She watched as Yuukai's expression changed to a solemn one. Her eyes were full of hate and sadness.

"Someone killed them, all of them. I wasn't so lucky, I got to live." She spoke bitterly. "I've got to go, see you guys at the bridge tomorrow." She spoke before leaving. Sasuke got up and followed her. He was curious. Kousetsu sighed.

"Please don't bring that up. She gets really, really upset. Don't feel bad, it was just a simple question." She spoke to Sakura who nodded. "I think I'm going to go, too. My room hasn't been cleaned in 3 years." She spoke as she left. The others followed her. Kakashi poofed and left the trio to walk home.

"So what's it like, you know to have something so powerful inside you?" Sakura asked them curiously.

"It's weird to have to share your body with something like that, but it's not as bad as people would make you believe." Kousetsu spoke

"The only bad thing about it is that people are afraid of you and don't want to be around you." Naruto spoke sadly. "But I'm glad that that's over for me. I've found people that accept me."

"Let me guess. Iruka sensei?" Kousetsu spoke.

"Yeah. How'd you know?" Naruto asked curiously.

"He did the same for me, I'm so happy to see that he hasn't changed." Kousetsu spoke smiling. Sakura simply listened to how they spoke to each other and smiled sadly.

_-They've suffered so much, they've been shunned, left out, even feared, but still managed to overcome all of it. They've found people that aren't so quick to judge and I'm glad. That's it; I'm going to be nicer to Naruto from now on_. - She thought smiling sadly at him. They approached Naruto's house first.

"Goodnight Naruto. See ya tomorrow." Kousetsu spoke smiling.

"We'll be at the bridge, as usual, ok?" Sakura spoke waving.

"Ok." Naruto spoke grinning as the two walked off.

"So what's it like to have an Uchiha and Naruto on your team? Not to mention the copy ninja for your sensei? I bet it's overwhelming."

"Yeah it is. I can't even come close to them. I feel so useless, I'm only getting in the way, I'm weak and I hate that." Sakura spoke sadly.

"You've got a big forehead, is there anything in it?" Kousetsu spoke. She watched as Sakura glared at her before laughing slightly.

"Yeah. I've worked very hard to learn the ways of the ninja. If you ask me about something, I bet I'll know it. What I lack in physical strength I make up in brains." Sakura spoke.

"Do you have good chakra control?" Kousetsu spoke curiously.

"Yeah, I'm the best in my squad. But what does it matter? I still can't fight or anything."

"Genjutsu. Learn a few. You'd be very good at it. Trust me. Or you could become a medic. Boys are rough, so that would be a good way to impress Sasuke." Kousetsu spoke slyly.

"How did you know that I liked Sasuke?" Sakura asked curiously.

"I could just tell, you kept glancing at him when we were eating, and I've seen the way you look at him. He's cute and all, but not my type, so don't worry. I'm not going to take him away from you." Kousetsu spoke as they reached a road that split.

"See ya." Kousetsu spoke before waving. She watched Sakura waved back and left. She went to her house and sighed. She lived alone, so she was used to no one being there. She looked around to find the place rather dusty.

"Ugh. Looks like I'm going to have to clean later." She spoke as she walked to her room. It was exactly the way she left it. The same white walls, same light blue sheets and curtains, same wooden desk and vanity, same pictures and dolls. She then looked through her clothes and sighed.

"There's no way that any of this'll fit me. I'll probably just go shopping later." She spoke as she took a quick shower and went to bed.


	4. Chapter 4

----------Earlier---------

"Wait up." Sasuke spoke as he ran towards Yuukai. She stopped and turned around.

"Huh? Oh Sasuke." She spoke smiling as they began walking again "Did you want something?"

"I wanted to know more about your clan. About what happened."

"Weren't you listening? They were killed, I'm the last one." She spoke irritated.

"Who killed them?"

"Why does it matter?" Yuukai spoke.

"Don't you want revenge?" he spoke.

"No. Why waste my life away with something like revenge." She spoke. "You sacrifice everything for it, and in the end, after you've got it, your life becomes meaningless. That's why I chose not to be an avenger. I was spared; I should live my life seeing as others can't. I realized that a while ago. If there comes a time when I have the chance to kill him, I'll kill him, but I won't go searching for him, obsessing about him " Yuukai spoke. "And yes, I've heard of Uchiha massacre. I know what happened and I knew Itachi myself. I'm sorry you had to go through that, but now you have someone to talk to about it." She spoke. "I live right there in apartment 34. Feel free to stop by whenever." She spoke as she began walking towards the complex. "Later." She spoke as she waved. Sasuke waved and left. Yuukai was walking up the stairs when she noticed someone enter her apartment. She assumed that it was one of her parents because they tended to stop by and eat or something. She walked in to find no one there.

_-I could have sworn that someone came in here. I'm losing it-_she thought as she looked on the coffee table to see a small letter on it. She picked it up and read it out loud.

"Dear Yuukai, We heard that you've finally got back from your mission. It's about time that you got back, we missed you so much. As you can probably tell, we're out again. Sorry about that. Hopefully we can do something together, eventually. Love, mom and dad." She spoke before sighing. "Typical." She spoke before throwing to the floor. She then walked to her room to see that it hadn't changed since she left. "Dolls? Yeah right. And when did I like pink?" she spoke as she looked at the curtains. She then took a shower and went to bed, unaware of her spectator who simply disappeared with a smirk on his face. The said man reappeared in front of another one while bowing.

"Orochimaru-sama, she has indeed returned." Kabuto spoke.

"Is that so? Keep an eye on her for me." Orochimaru spoke.

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama." He spoke smirking before poofing off.

Next Day

"Hey you guys, good morning." Kousetsu spoke smiling. However, she saw that Naruto was half asleep and Sakura was messing with her hair. Sasuke looked fine, but just ignored her.

"Well aren't you three just a giant ray of sunshine." She spoke sarcastically. "Fine, be that way." She asked as she sat down. Yuukai then walked up with a drowsy Boutoku.

"I got Boutoku!" Yuukai spoke smiling.

"What training are you guys talking about?" he spoke yawning.

"Just sparring." Kakashi spoke as he and Kuwo walked up to them.

"No way." Sakura spoke

"Could it be?" Sasuke spoke.

"Kakashi's sensei is on time?" Naruto spoke in disbelief. Kakashi sweatdropped.

"I got him here on time." Kuwo spoke laughing. "So let's head to the grounds, shall we?" he spoke as they began walking.

"So who's fighting who?" Boutoku asked curiously.

"You're fighting Naruto, Sakura's fighting Yuukai, and Kousetsu's fighting Sasuke." Kakashi spoke. "Ok Naruto, Boutoku, you're up."

"Ok bring it punk." Boutoku spoke before unsheathing his blade.

"Whoa, that's a cool sword." Naruto spoke as he looked at it. (pic in my pro)

"Ready? Begin!" Kuwo spoke. Boutoku then ran towards Naruto with his blade in hand. Naruto then made a few shadow clones that tackled him. One of them stole his sword. But to his surprise, Boutoku began taking them out with simple taijutsu.

"Hey, if you use a sword, you're not supposed to be good with hand to hand combat. What's with that?" Naruto asked curiously. He then felt the sword begin to burn, it become to hot that he had to drop it. The sword came back just in time for Boutoku to slash the last clone in half.

"Normally that's how it is with most sword wielders, but I'm a little different. I balance it out, which catches my opponent off guard." He spoke as he began making hand signs. He suddenly vanished.

"What the—where'd he go?" Naruto spoke looking around until his surroundings changed into darkness. Red lights were placed on top of the ceiling, guiding him to where to go. He followed them until he came to an open room. There was a simple black case, similar to a coffin, but not quite. It was covered in chains, and had many seals on it. Suddenly a boy about Naruto's age walked in with his parents. He watched as the boy walked up to the case and placed a key onto the chains.

"Be careful sweetie." The mother spoke.

"Don't hurt yourself, Boutoku, we're counting on you." The father spoke.

"What? Boutoku?" Naruto spoke as the boy began unlocking it. He opened the case and then the doors shut. All of the light went out as the room began to glow red. The boy watched as the sword suddenly shot out and stabbed his father. The mother screamed in horror as she looked at the sword now embedded into her husband's stomach. It then turned towards her before striking her. Boutoku just stood there, not reacting at all. His eyes were a bright red they weren't human. He watched as the sword came back and landed in his hand. Boutoku then turned towards Naruto who was petrified and couldn't move. He watched as the boy approached him and swiftly cut him in half.

"Ahhhhhhhhhh!" Naruto screamed as he awoke from the genjutsu. He was panting and his eyes were widened. He looked up to see Boutoku standing over him. "Get the hell away from me, you monster!" Naruto spoke angrily. He watched as Boutoku began to laugh.

"Calm down, it was just a genjutsu that I made up." Boutoku spoke.

"You idiot, you used the one that had to do with Shishio, didn't you?" Kousetsu spoke.

"So?"

"Look at him, he's terrified. You're such an ass, Boutoku." Yuukai spoke as she hit him.

"You mean it was just an illusion?" Naruto spoke. "But it seemed so real."

"That's what a genjutsu is, loser." Sasuke spoke.

"Ok, next. Yuukai and Sakura." Kakashi spoke.

"On second thought, I'm not feeling so well, I'm going home." Yuukai spoke as she began walking off while holding her head.

"What's with her?" Sakura spoke curiously.

"I have no clue. Probably PMS or something." Kuwo spoke. "I wouldn't worry."

-------------Yuukai--------------------------

_-What's going on, why do I feel so faint? -_She thought. She then stopped walking and leant against a fence to catch her breath, that's when she felt a piercing pain in her stomach, causing her to scream out.

"Aghhhhhh! What the hell is this?" she screamed as the pain increased.

------Sand Trio-----------

"Isn't that the bitch from yesterday?" Kankuro spoke.

"Yeah I think so, I wonder what's going on." Temari spoke as she ran over to help her. She approached the girl who was now on her knees trying to get up. The pain had stopped, so she was finally able to stand.

"What happened, are you alright?" Temari spoke.

"I think so, I have to clue as to what that wa—Aghhhhhhhh!" she screamed as the pain came back causing her to fall back down if Temari hadn't caught her.

"Kankuro, take her to the nearest hospital, something's seriously wrong with her." Temari spoke.

"Like I really care what happens to that bitch." Kankuro spoke.

"Kankuro. Do it, now!" Temari spoke.

"Fine, fine. Whatever." He spoke as he picked her up and jumped off to the nearest hospital.

"Kankuro do this, Kankuro do that." He spoke mocking her as he reached the hospital. He then dropped her on the ground.

"Oww! You're an ass, you know that?" Yuukai spoke.

"Be lucky that I even brought you here." He spoke before walking off. Yuukai glared and got up. She then walked over to the desk.

"Yuukai Karite. It's an emergency, I've recently had these intense pains followed by fatigue, and I know its not PMS so don't even try it." She spoke as she got hit with another wave of pain causing her pass out.

------------Others--------------

Kousetsu was currently standing on a lake and throwing ice at Sasuke who simply kept melting them with his fireballs. Sasuke knew that if he went on or near the water, he'd be screwed, so he had to get her back on land.

"Since you're not coming over here, guess I'm going over there." Kousetsu spoke as she began running towards him onto the hand. She then surprised him when she punched him right in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him.

"Bet you didn't expect that." She spoke as kicked him in the face. "Or that? Not a lot of girls use taijutsu." She spoke as Sasuke got up and smirked. They decided to only fight taijutsu. The kept exchanging punches and kicks until neither could move. They were tired, no beyond tired but each was determined to get in the last move. Eventually neither could move very fast, but Sasuke won seeing as he got in the last kick.

"Ok, I give. I'm worn out." Kousetsu spoke. Sasuke nodded.

"You guys beat the crap out of each other, nice." Kuwo spoke.

"So can we go home now?" Boutoku spoke.

"Yeah. Dismissed."

"Can you walk Kousetsu?"

"Nope." She spoke as she fell over. Boutoku sighed and picked her up. Sasuke got up and walked off. He was curious as to where Yuukai went off to.

_-She probably went to the hospital-_he thought as he approached it. He walked over to the receptionist.

"May I help you?"

"Did a girl named Yuukai come here?"

"Why yes she did. She's in room 27. She should be awake."

"Thanks." He spoke as went to her room and knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" she asked.

"It's Sasuke." He replied.

"Oh go ahead then." She spoke as he opened the door to see her sitting there messing with the hospital bed remote.

"So what happened today?" Sasuke asked curiously.

"It turns out that my cut was infected and that it had been for a while, if had I let it go on like that for a couple more days, I would have died. " she spoke. "Really scared me. But what surprised me was who brought me here. That guy, Kankuro did. Of all people, him? Weird." She spoke laughing. Suddenly they heard a knock on the door.

"Come in." Yuukai spoke.

"Well, we've pretty much got it cleaned up, you should be able to leave the day after tomorrow." He spoke. "You're lucky, if you had come any later, there's no telling how much the infection could have spread." He spoke before leaving. "Oh and visiting hours are over in 10 minutes. Sorry."

"Well, you should be going, then. See you later." She spoke. Sasuke nodded and left. "Oh, make sure to tell the others where I am, I don't want them to worry."


	5. Chapter 5

Two Days Later--4 Days Until Exams

Yuukai had been released from the hospital so she decided to go shopping with Kousetsu and Sakura. Yuukai walked over to Kousetsu's to see that Sakura was already there.

"So we're ready to go then?"

"Yup. I'm glad that you're ok." Sakura spoke as they left. They walked into a clothes store and began to look around. Sakura went over to the clan section (XD I don't know, the side that had clothing with clan symbols on it) to find something with the symbol for Haruno on it. Yuukai came with her, while Kousetsu looked around in the kimonos.

"Haruno is the little circle thing, right?" Yuukai spoke. Sakura nodded.

"Found it. It's basically the same, but it's sleeveless."

"Oh right. It's summer now, hmmm, now what should I get." She spoke as she looked in the Karite section. There wasn't much, obviously. She then found a tight, dark blue tank with her symbol drawn on the front and had the symbol for reaper on the other side in black. She also found a tight tube top with the symbol it. It came with a matching skirt and boots (flat heeled). "This a pretty outfit, like if I go out or something, might as well get it." She then picked out a bunch of different outfits. While she was doing that, Sakura went over to Kousetsu who deciding on which one to get.

"Which one, this one, or that one." She spoke while holding them up.

"That one with the blue." Sakura spoke. It was a light blue kimono with a black sash; little black swirls covered the dress, giving it a formal look. It stopped at the knees though, so you knew that it was a fighting kimono.

"Can you fight in that?" Sakura spoke.

"Yeah, don't worry, I know what I'm doing." Kousetsu spoke as she picked up a few more things.

"How are you guys gonna pay for all of this?" Sakura suddenly spoke.

"We just got back from an A-Ranked Mission, we got paid, a lot."

"Oh, that makes sense. Do you think you could help me with the genjutsu stuff after this?"

"Sure, just go tell Yuukai where we're going."

"Ok." She spoke as she ran over to Yuukai.

"We'll be at the grounds ok?"

"Got it. I'll catch up to you later then." She spoke as began looking through the pants. That was when she saw Temari walk in and begin to look around.

"Hey Temari!" she yelled while waving. Temari looked over and walked up to her.

"So what was wrong with you the other day?" she asked.

"My wound got infected. If I'd left it like that for a few more hours, I'd be dead." Yuukai spoke. "Plus, I'm really bad with directions so I'd like to thank your brother for helping me, even if he is a jerk off. Where is he?" she asked.

"He's not here right now. They went off somewhere so I'm just killing time." She spoke.

"Well I'm pretty much done here, so do you wanna go and get something to eat?"

"Sure, I've got nothing else to do." Temari spoke.

"Ok, let's go to the tea shop." Yuukai spoke a she pulled Temari into it. They got their tea and cakes and went to sit down.

"It turns out that I'm taking the exams after all. My sensei stopped by the other day and gave me the form for it."

"Well that's good, are the other 3 going to participate?"

"The little kids, the one's not in my squad? I think so, but I'm not sure that Sakura will, the girl with the pink hair."

"She doesn't look like she could put up that much of a fight anyways." Temari spoke as she sipped her tea.

"She's smart from what I've heard. And Kousetsu's training her as we speak." Yuukai spoke as she ate some cake. "Now that we're back, we all wanna become Jounin and then ANBU but I doubt it because it's a lot of work. Probably stay Jounin."

"Jounin? ANBU? Are you really that strong?" Temari asked curiously.

"I hope I am. Although, my main objective is to kill someone and get my revenge, but I won't let that become my sole purpose. I still want to fall in love and get married and all that crap, you know, enjoy my life." Yuukai spoke.

"That's good." Temari spoke. "Now who is it that you're after and why?"

"Orochimaru, because slaughtered my clan." she spoke bitterly. Temari's eyes widened.

_-She's after him of all people? -_She thought.

----------Kousetsu And Sakura---------

"Ok. Let's start with the basics. Boutoku let me borrow this one a while ago." She spoke as she pulled out a scroll.

"I've already read that. I just need some ideas for making one."

"Well you could try the tree illusion first."

"Not exactly my style, but oh well." She spoke before making a hand sign and disappearing. Kousetsu felt the roots of a tree wrapping around her body and stayed calm. She then saw Sakura emerge from the corner of her eyes and stab her with a kunai. Sakura released it while sticking her tongue out.

"Was that any good?"

"Yeah, but you didn't really get into it." Kousetsu spoke.

"Do you know any genjutsu?"

"I know one or two. I hardly ever use them, though. I use ninjutsu and a bit of taijutsu but that's about it. What type of genjutsu do you like?"

"Hmmm. I think I've got one. I'll call it Shuriken Petals." She spoke as she began to create the genjutsu. Kousetsu suddenly appeared underneath a Sakura tree. She noticed how serene it felt, and closed her eyes.

"It smells so good, and it's so peaceful. You could really catch people off guard with this." Kousetsu spoke while dosing off. She suddenly noticed how the petals grew heavier. She opened her eyes to see that they were slowly turning into shuriken. The tree went from pink to black as everything in the surrounding area died, causing her to panic. She looked up to the shuriken hanging from the branches and tried to dodge them as they fell. But it was no use; they kept growing back until the person could no longer dodge. Kousetsu awoke from it. "You got me with that one." She spoke while panting slightly.

-----------Temari and Yuukai------------

"So how do you fight exactly?" Yuukai spoke. "Like is that a fan on your back or something?"

"Yeah. I combine wind attacks with it. We could spar if you want. Kankuro is easy to beat and I don't even dare to ask Gaara." Temari spoke. "Plus, those other girls that you were talking about should be over there."

"Yeah, ok. I need to stop by my house and change anyways, which is on the way." Yuukai spoke as they left the teahouse and started towards her house. "This is my apartment. My parents are never home, so it gets lonely around here. Just make yourself comfortable." She spoke as she went into her room. Temari got up and looked at her pictures. They didn't have any of her when she was a baby, just when she was about 7. It made sense, because they weren't her real parents, but they tried. Suddenly Yuukai came out in her new outfit and had her mask in her hand.

"Those are my step parents. Everything before that was destroyed in a house fire." Yuukai sadly spoke as she grabbed a few bottles of water out of the fridge and took them in a small bag. "Now let's go." She spoke as she opened the door for her. Temari walked out and Yuukai locked the door behind her.


	6. Chapter 6

Few Changes:

-Shishio is actually spelled Chishio

-The name of Kousetsu's demon is Toutori which means "a frozen over bird"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So where are the training grounds?" Temari asked.

"Right over this bridge." Yuukai spoke as they crossed it. She looked to see that Naruto and Sasuke were sitting there. And now, Boutoku was there.

"It's like 2 o'clock, how long have you been there?"

"We've been here since 9 and Boutoku got here about 11:30. Kakashi-sensei is in big trouble when he gets here." Naruto spoke angrily.

"That guy with silver hair and mask?" Temari spoke curiously.

"Yeah."

"I saw him hanging out with some guy with blonde hair and green eyes a while ago." She spoke.

"Typical." Yuukai spoke sighing.

"Looks like they stood you guys up." Temari spoke laughing.

"It's not funny, I should be training damn it!" Boutoku spoke angrily.

"He's right, we need to train, but our sensei's have to be such losers." Sasuke spoke.

"And how did you get here Boutoku?" Yuukai spoke.

"Kuwo-sensei told me to wait for him here for training." He spoke sadly.

"What an idiot. Didn't you notice how their sensei hadn't showed up yet?" Temari spoke. Boutoku glared at her and blushed slightly. She was right. He did sorta know that he wasn't going to show.

_-She probably thinks I'm an idiot now. Wait, why do I care? -_Boutoku thought.

"So, you guys wanna train with us?" Yuukai spoke.

"Of course, anything's better than sitting here!" Naruto exclaimed before jumping up.

"You shouldn't be fighting now. The doctor released you under the conditions that you were going to be careful." Sasuke spoke.

"What are you, my mother? And I will be careful." she spoke as they began walking. "This is Sasuke, Naruto, and Boutoku." Yuukai spoke pointing to each of them. Temari nodded. They approached the grounds to see Sakura training her ass off. She and Kousetsu were currently practicing hand-to-hand combat and she was doing rather well. She then made some hand signs. Suddenly 5 clones surrounded Kousetsu who was out of breath. She then watched as they took out kunai and threw them at her. Kousetsu stood there and closed her eyes as her body began to glow a light blue. The weapons suddenly froze, centimeters from contact. Sakura simply smirked before attacking her with the clones. Kousetsu managed to defeat them all, but wasn't expecting for Sakura to punch her in the stomach, causing for her to fall to the ground and hiss in pain. However, her body turned into a log, which confused Sakura who had a kunai now held to her throat from behind. Sakura then made a few hand signs before disappearing.

"Genjutsu, again?" Kousetsu spoke as she made a hand sign.

"Kai!" she spoke causing the illusion to be canceled, leaving Sakura who was glaring. They then ran towards each other and began fighting again. Both were getting tired, but didn't stop.

"Who knew that Sakura could fight like that?" Naruto spoke in disbelief. Sasuke said nothing.

_-This couldn't be Sakura Haruno, could it? -_He thought as he watched in interest.

Sakura tried to land a punch on Kousetsu who dodged and tried to punch her back. Sakura readily blocked and tried to kick her. Kousetsu grabbed her leg and pulled it up so that she was standing on her arms. Sakura glared and took out a kunai and threw it at her, causing Kousetsu to drop her and dodge. Sakura then fell down and drop kicked her, catching her off guard and making her fall. Sakura then took a kunai and threw it next to her head.

"Ha! I think I've finally won this time." Sakura spoke smirking.

"It seems so. Congratulations." Kousetsu spoke as she got up. They then heard some clapping from the side.

"Go Sakura. I had no clue you could fight like that!" Naruto spoke.

"Could it be? Kousetsu's finally met her match?" Yuukai spoke smirking.

"No, not even close. This was just taijutsu training. If she had used ninjutsu, I'd be screwed." Sakura spoke blushing.

"But still, you did awesome. You don't look like much, but you sure can kick ass if you want to." Kousetsu spoke. "And I think that Sasuke was impressed." She whispered, causing Sakura to blush.

"Since they're done, you wanna spar now?" Yuukai spoke speaking to Temari who nodded. The two walked into the center and got into position. Temari took her fan out and opened it to the first star. She watched as a scythe suddenly appeared in her left hand.

"Ready?" Boutoku spoke. "Begin!"

Temari started by sending a giant gust of wind towards her. Yuukai simply hid behind a tree and made some hand signs.

"Ninja Art: Song of The Spirits!" Yuukai spoke as she slammed her scythe into the ground, causing a rift between earth and the under world. Several spirits escaped and began to circle Temari who stood there curiously. The spirits began to spin around her, faster and faster until they became a blur. They then began singing, they sounded like little angels, it was just so relaxing that Temari sat down and listened. That is until she felt a scythe to her throat. She then pulled it, making it seem like Temari was beheaded, causing the girls to look away. It turned out that Temari fell over. Her head was intact, but she wasn't moving. The singing stopped and the jutsu ended. Yuukai stood over her.

"What did you do?" Naruto spoke.

"I took out her soul." Yuukai spoke.

"You didn't kill her, did you?" Sakura spoke seriously.

"Of course not. As a matter of fact, I'll return it to her right now." She spoke as she leant over. Suddenly Yuukai felt a kunai graze her shoulder. She stood up just in time to dodge some more. Then she felt someone kick her right in the stomach.

"What the hell did you do to her?" Kankuro spoke glaring at her.

"I didn't do anything, she's fine. And why the hell did you have to kick me there of all places. I'm hurt there you know." She spoke glaring while clinching her stomach in pain.

"Well good." Kankuro spoke as he took out a kunai.

"Kankuro, you knew she was wounded there, why did you do that?" Temari spoke as she ran over to her.

"Huh? But I thought---"

"You thought what? Shit, she's bleeding again." Temari spoke as she lifted up her shirt to check out the bandages.

"You three, take her to the hospital, now!" Temari screamed to squad 7 who ran over and got her. She then looked over to see Boutoku and Kousetsu fighting off Gaara. "What the hell is going on?" Temari asked angrily.

"We thought that she'd killed you."

"Do you really think that she would kill me?"

"She probably would, stupid bitch."

"There were 1 of me and 6 of them. Two of them just fought and are exhausted. Three of them are sparring over there, so what makes you think that she was trying to kill me? We were sparring and you knew that, but you decided that this would be a chance for a cheap shot. And to think she was going to thank you for taking her a while ago, but now you just put her back in. Way to go dumb ass, now you're apologizing to her and that's final!" Temari spoke before slapping him. "Got it?" she spoke as she held out her fan menacingly.

"Got it." Kankuro spoke terrified. He knew that Temari could kick his ass.


	7. Chapter 7

"Boutoku, we need to retreat, I'm too tired to fight." Kousetsu spoke.

"Got it." He spoke as he threw a smoke bomb and they disappeared.

"Where'd you go, little girl? Come back and fight me Toutori!" Gaara yelled before calming down. He watched as the other two approached him wearily. They then left heading towards the hotel. Temari made a note of where the hospital was and also knew where a flower shop was.

"We'll catch up with you later, ok Gaara?" she spoke.

"Whatever." Gaara spoke without stopping.

"Now, you are to get her flowers and apologize. Got it? If you try to run, I'll find you." Temari spoke darkly.

"Yeah. Yeah, whatever." He spoke as he went into the flower shop. A preppy blonde girl greeted him.

"Hi, welcome to the Yamanaka Flower Shop. May I help you?" she spoke.

"I need flowers for someone in the hospital. A girl, about 15." He spoke uncomfortably.

"Your girlfriend perhaps?" she spoke.

-_Hell no! Although I honestly wouldn't mind. -_He thought remembering what she was wearing.

"No, just a friend who got in a training accident." He lied.

"Hmm. Will she be alright?" she spoke as she began putting together an arrangement.

"Stop asking questions and hurry up." He spoke irritated.

"Yeah, yeah I'm almost done, geez." She spoke as she tied it with a ribbon. "Which card would you like?" she asked as she pointed to like 50.

"I don't care. Just hurry up!" he spoke irritated. There's no telling what would happen if someone saw him in here. But then again, who was there to see him? Suddenly he heard the door open and Sakura came in. When she looked at him, she glared. She then noticed Ino making an arrangement. She walked past him and walked over to her.

"Why is he here?" she asked curiously.

"He came to get flowers for someone, a friend in the hospital or something." She spoke as she rung it up. Kankuro paid for them and quickly left to see Temari waiting.

"Wow, that Yamanaka girl knows what she's doing. Sakura was right." Temari spoke as she looked at the flowers.

"They cost a lot too so she'd better like them." Kankuro spoke grumpily as they began walking towards the hospital. Temari saw the receptionist and walked over.

"Miss Yuukai, please." Temari spoke politely.

"Room 126." She responded.

"Thanks." She spoke as they went to her room.

"I'll wait right here." Temari spoke as she stood next to the door. Kankuro took a deep breath before knocking.

"Come in." she responded. When Kankuro came in, he saw Yuukai sitting on the windowsill looking out the window at the sunset. Her dark blue hair was down and went all the way to her back, and her entire top half was covered in bandages. He watched as she turned around slowly, exposing her mask less face. The sun reflected off of her tanned skin, making it glow, which contrasted against her piercing yellowish brown eyes that were currently glaring at him. "What do you want?" she spoke coldly. Kankuro struggled to find his voice.

"I wanted to apologize, I knew you were hurt there, I was just being immature. I won't do anything like that to you again, and uh, I brought you flowers. You better like them." Kankuro spoke shoving them into her arms. He then turned to leave, but he felt someone grab his hand. He turned to see that Yuukai had stopped him and she had a smile on her face that made Kankuro's heart melt. He watched as she walked up to him and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"Thanks, I know we got off on the wrong foot, but I'll get over it if you do." She spoke.

"Well I'm not sure, throw in another kiss and I'll think about it." Kankuro spoke grinning. He watched as her smile turned to a frown.

"Don't push it." She spoke dully. "So are we friends or not?"

"Yeah, friends." He spoke slightly disappointed.

_-Yep. Just friends. - _He thought.

"See ya." She spoke as he left. Temari smiled and noticed that part of his paint was smudged on his cheek. She then teased him.

"Awww. Did my wittle brother get a kiss from Yuukai-chan?" she spoke smirking.

"Shut up. What if I did?" Kankuro spoke as he thought about it, another blush rising on his face.


	8. Chapter 8

Chuunin Exams 

Kousetsu went to go and get the others. She knocked on the door to see Yuukai putting on her shoes while holding a piece of toast in her mouth.

"Let's go get Boutoku! And nice dress." Yuukai spoke as they left and she began eating her toast.

"Thanks." She spoke.

They reached the Yuuhi residence and knocked politely. To their surprise, Asuma answered the door. He watched as the girls paled as they jumped to conclusions.

"No, no. We weren't doing anything, geez." Asuma spoke at the girls.

"Sure." Yuukai spoke as she walked in, followed by Kousetsu.

"Hey Kurenai! Where's Boutoku?" Kousetsu asked curiously.

"He's upstairs getting ready. He'll be down in a minute. Just make yourselves comfortable." That's when they heard Boutoku open his door and come out. He grabbed Chishio and left with the others.

"Later." He spoke.

"Wait!" Kurenai spoke to the group who stopped and turned around. "Boutoku, don't overuse Chishio, do you hear me!"

"Yeah. Yeah. Whatever." He spoke as they made their way to the academy. They walked back over the bridge to see them sitting there.

"Did you guys wait for us? How sweet." Yuukai spoke smiling. When Naruto saw Yuukai, he sprung to life.

"Hey, Yuukai." He spoke yelling at her.

"Hey, Naruto." She spoke back. "Hey, Sasuke, Sakura." She spoke.

"Hey Yuukai." Sakura spoke as she stopped messing with her hair and got up. Yuukai didn't hear anything from Sasuke so she walked over to him and just stood there. He simply turned his head in another direction. Yuukai simply walked over to where he was looking. They did this until finally Sasuke said something.

"Hey." Sasuke spoke grumpily.

"That wasn't so bad, now was it?" she spoke smiling. Sasuke glared at her.

"Well, we better get going." Boutoku spoke as they began walking to the academy.

-----------Room 301--------

"Is someone as talent less as you really planning to take the Chuunin Exam? Why bother? Bunch of wet-behind-the-ears snot noses." a boy spoke to a guy in a green jumpsuit.

"You said it!" the other one spoke.

"Please…we're begging you…. let us in." a girl in a pink shirt spoke. Suddenly one of the boys slapped her.

"That's just cruel." A random guy spoke.

"What did you say? You misunderstand! We're just trying to spare you. The Chuunin exam is an incredibly difficult…and we should know. We've failed it three times so far. There are people who made it, then immediately gave up on being shinobi…others ended up crippled some reduced to vegetables, we've seen it all! Besides that, Chuunin are cell commanders. They lead their units. The responsibilities for failed missions and dead shinobi rest firmly on their shoulders. And you little punks have the never to apply? We're saving a step by weeding out the obvious losers beforehand."

"That sounds good in theory…." A random guy spoke.

"Well you better let us through, and drop the force-field illusion you've created while you're at it. We have business on the third floor." Sasuke spoke.

"What's he talking about?"

"Who knows?"

"Oh, I get it. You're trying to trick us into thinking that we're on the 3rd floor. Smart." Yuukai spoke.

"It's not like we'd fall for it, though." Boutoku spoke.

"Heh. So you figured that out, eh?" the boy spoke.

"Of course, and Sakura was probably the first one to notice, too." Kousetsu spoke smiling.

"You are, after all, the most analytical and the best in our cell at understanding the art of illusion." Sasuke spoke causing Sakura to blush.

"Told you." Kousetsu spoke winking.

"Yeah, we're only on the second floor and I'll prove it right now." She spoke as she made a hand sign and released the illusion, leaving the number 201 on the sign.

"Hey, not bad, but just seeing through it isn't enough!" the boy screamed as he prepared to kick Sasuke who prepared to block him with his own. Suddenly the boy in the green jumpsuit stood up and blocked both of their kicks.

"He's so fast. He perceived the attack patterns on both sides and planted himself at the nexus of both their kicks, is that even possible?!?" Sakura spoke.

"I guess it is, seeing that he just did it." Kousetsu spoke slightly shocked.

"Phew." The green suited boy spoke.

"Hey, that's not what we agreed. You're the one who insisted we should avoid drawing attention to ourselves." A guy with purple, pupil less eyes spoke.

"B-But…." he replied while looking over at Sakura and Kousetsu.

"Here we go again." The girl with the pink shirt spoke while shaking her head. She watched as he walked over to Sakura.

"Um, Hi. My name is Rock Lee. You're Sakura, aren't you? Would you like to go out with me? I'll protect you with my life!" he spoke grinning.

"No way. You are way out of hand!" Sakura spoke as he hung his head down. Naruto laughed at him.

"Hey you! What's your name? I'm curious about you 3 as well." He spoke while looking at squad 3.

"It's common courtesy to give your name first." Sasuke replied.

"Quit provoking people, geez. I'm Karite Yuukai."

"Yuuhi Boutoku."

"I'm Kusabana Kousetsu."

-_The container for the Toutori, a Karite, and the one who holds the demon sword Chishio? This is incredible- _the boy with purple eyes thought. He then turned back the Sasuke.

"You're a rookie, aren't you? How old?"

"I don't have to tell you a thing." He spoke turning around. He then began walking towards the stairs, followed by squad 3. The found room 301 and opened the doors.

"Holy shit! There are so many people." Yuukai spoke.

"Language." Kousetsu spoke.

"It doesn't matter how many of them are here, I'm gonna beat everyone of you!" Naruto spoke causing the entire room to look at him.

"You're going to get yourself killed." A boy with a dog on his head spoke. Along with him were a female Hyuuga and some weirdo in sunglasses.

"Hey Sasuke, you made it." An obnoxious blonde girl spoke while hugging him from behind. Kousetsu pinched her arms causing her to let go and glare at her.

"Despite what you've been told, guys don't like to be glomped by their fan girls. It makes them hate you more. Which is probably already a whole lot because you should've seen his face." Kousetsu spoke smirking.

"What are you supposed to be? His girl or something?" Ino spoke back angrily.

"No wonder your name means pig, you squeal like one. And no, I'm not, just a friend."

"Why you—" Ino spoke as she lifted a hand to punch her. Kousetsu simply raised her hand and knocked it to the side before grabbing her throat and holding her up in the air.

"Listen you. I could kick your ass so easily that it wouldn't even be funny. Don't you ever raise a fist at me again or I swear you'll regret it." Kousetsu spoke before throwing her down to the floor. Everyone was dead silent after that. They noticed how her eyes had changed into an ice-cold dark blue when she said that. Her eyes soon returned to their normal light blue and she smiled slightly. "Oops, looks like I got a little carried away, heh. Sorry about that." She spoke offering her hand. Ino backed away from it and got up by herself before running out. Sakura ran after her, as did Hinata. "Girls like her piss me off, I'm sure you have a type of person you hate, too. Oh that was the Toutori talking, not me. She's better at that kind of stuff."

-----------Sand trio---------

"Did you just see that?" Kankuro spoke.

"Yeah. That girl's no joke." Temari spoke staring. Gaara simply smirked.

-_Now that's the Toutori I now- _Shukaku spoke grinning.


	9. Chapter 9

"The Toutori?" Kiba asked.

"3 tailed bird demon." Kousetsu spoke. "So who are you guys?"

"I'm Inuzuka Kiba, and this is Akamaru."

"Aburame Shino, and the girl that ran off was Hyuuga Hinata."

"Nara Shikamaru."

"Akimichi Chouji."

-­_More like Aka-munchie- _Boutoku thought.

"So you guys are fresh out of the academy?" Boutoku spoke.

"Yeah. What about you?" Shikamaru spoke.

"We graduated 3 years ago. Then got stuck on a mission that lasted that whole time. And to save your curiosity, I'm 12 right now. She's 15 and he's 16." Kousetsu spoke pointing to her teammates. Then all three of the girls returned and went to their respective squads. Suddenly a man with silver hair and glasses approached the 12 contestants.

"You look like you're fresh out of the academy. Well, except for you two." Kabuto spoke looking at Boutoku and Yuukai. He saw Yuukai and noticed that she was wearing a mask. He walked over to her and removed it while whispering to her.

"You'd look a lot better without it, you know." He spoke smirking causing her to blush and look away.

"I'm just here to warn you about the exams. I've failed 7 times so far." He spoke shamefully. "Although, I have been able to collect data on everyone, so that's one advantage. These cards may appear blank, but with a simple command of my chakra, they can be decoded."

"Can I see the card of Rock Lee and Gaara?" Sasuke spoke. Kabuto nodded before pulling out the said cards. There was a decent amount of information about Rock Lee, but not much about Gaara.

"Attention!" a man suddenly spoke. He was tall and intimidated basically everyone. He was doing a really good job at it until Yuukai ran up and hugged him causing him to blush; this really was defiling his tough image. He looked down at her, silently saying 'not now'. She frowned before letting go and walking back to her squad. "Ummmm like I was saying, I am the examiner for the first exam, which will be a written test. Come and get your seat number, and I will explain the exam." Yuukai walked up at the same time as Kankuro, and they ended up sitting next to each other. Boutoku sat next to Kiba, and Kousetsu sat by herself.

"What's up, make up boy?" She spoke smirking while taking her mask off.

"I'm fine, freak. How are you?" he replied.

"Good. My wound is healed, you can barely see the scar, see." She spoke as she lifted up the bottom of her shirt all the way up until it reached her breasts. There was a small, barely noticeable scar that started on her hip that went all the way past her belly button that would fade away in about a year. He really wasn't paying to the scar as much as he was to her exposed stomach. It was thin, toned, tan and she had a belly piercing of a skull on it. She was very curvy, but he could already see that by the shirt that she was wearing. She then placed her shirt down, much to Kankuro's disappointment. They then heard the proctor's voice.

"Listen up. You start with 10 points, if we catch you cheating, we will deduct 2 for each time. I have proctors that are watching your every move, so you better watch yourselves. Show what exceptional shinobi you can be. The 10th question will be given 15 minutes before the exam ends. Any questions?" Ibiki spoke. Everyone was silent. (That man was scary! XD) "You may begin."

-------Kousetsu--------

_-These questions are so hard; I can't even understand them. Guess I'm just going to have to cheat. -_ Kousetsu thought as her eyes began to glow a light blue. She targeted a nearby bird and commanded it to sit on the edge of the window overlooking the room. She then looked through the bird's eyes and wrote down the right answers. _-That was easy enough.-_ she thought.

-------Boutoku-------

"Holy shit these questions are hard. Help me out would you Kiba?" he spoke barely above a whisper.

"Fine, but you owe me one." Kiba responded grinning before sliding his paper towards him.

--------Yuukai------

-_These are way too difficult for us to answer, I can get a few, but some aren't even worth trying. I need help from my brother-­ _She thought as she suddenly dropped her pencil and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath before opening her eyes again. Kankuro watched from the corner of his eyes as a ghostly figure suddenly appeared behind her. It turned out to be a boy; about 17 and Kankuro thought that he was attractive (in the straightest way possible.) He watched as the boy placed his hand over hers and took the pencil. He then began explaining how to solve those types of problems. She nodded and he left. She looked over at Kankuro who was staring at her.

"It was my brother. He helped me." She whispered to him.

-_Ok, so the guy's only her older brother, that could've been bad - _He thought. He then looked over at her and noticed how she easily completed those problems. All that guy did was show her the basics, and she was able to fill in the minor details by herself. –_She's smart, too. What are the chances? -_He thought. Then he looked at the clock and noticed that there were only a few minutes left. He then raised his hand.

"Ummm. I gotta go to the bathroom." Kankuro spoke grinning.

"Very well. Come with me. Don't try anything, either." A proctor spoke while cuffing him.

-------Bathroom-----

"That was a close one, wasn't it?" Kankuro spoke to Karasu while writing the answers down on a small scroll for Temari.

-----------Exams-----

"Ok, I will now announce the 10th question." Suddenly Kankuro came back and slipped the answers to Temari. "It's good that you're back from playing with dolls." Ibiki slyly spoke.

"Could it be that Kanku-chan is cheating?" she spoke disappointedly.

"Asking for help from your brother isn't?" he spoke back smirking.

"Shut up." she spoke while looking back at the proctor.

"There are a few special rules for this question. You have two choices. Take it and risk getting it wrong and being banned from ever taking the exams again, or you may leave and try again next year." Everyone gasped and began thinking.

"That's it, I quit."

"Yeah I'm out."

"Me too."

"Squad 12: Failed. Squad 23: Failed. Squad 17: Failed."

"It that it? Anyone else?" Ibiki asked. Squad 3 watched as Naruto raised his hand.


	10. Chapter 10

Naruto then threw his hand down.

"Listen up. A ninja never backs down from a challenge. Believe it!" he spoke. His words gave the others some backbone.

"I'm staying." Boutoku spoke.

"It's all or nothing." Yuukai spoke sighing.

"Well, congratulations. You've all passed the 1st exam." Ibiki suddenly spoke.

"Whaaaaaaaaat!" Naruto spoke surprised. Everyone was taken back by what he'd said.

"A ninja must see through deception. You could've taken the safe way out, but that's not how the ninja acts. Ninja go head first into battle without knowing the numbers." Ibiki spoke grinning. Suddenly a rock appeared breaking through the glass and killing the bird.

"My bird!" Kousetsu spoke angrily. Kunai emerged from the corners revealing a woman in a Khaki trench coat and purple hair up in a bun.

"I'm Mitarashi Anko and I'm your proctor for the 2nd exam."

"And you are going to apologize for killing that bird over there!" Kousetsu spoke angrily. Yuukai and Boutoku jumped up to hold her back, which was surprisingly hard seeing as she kept kicking.

"I like you. You've got spunk. You'll need it for the next exam." Anko spoke smirking. "And hello Yuukai. I heard that you guys just got back."

"Save that for later, we need to get the exam started." Ibiki spoke.

"Ok, report to the training grounds and sign the waivers for me will ya? Then get a scroll." Anko spoke to the group who nodded and left the room.

"Ok, you guys have a 10 minutes break because of the academy's newspaper interviews. Use it wisely." Anko spoke. Yuukai, Kousetsu, and Boutoku were just sitting under a tree when the sand siblings approached them.

"Hey Temari, I'm glad to see you passed." Yuukai spoke.

"Same for you." She spoke back.

"Hey Kankuro, what's up?" Boutoku asked.

"Nothing much, you?" Kankuro spoke.

"How are you today Gaara?" Kousetsu spoke.

"Fine." He replied.

"So we get 2 scrolls, heaven and earth, then head towards the tower. Seems simple enough." Boutoku spoke.

"But even so, we'll encounter a lot of shinobi as we get closer, so that'll slow us down a lot. " Yuukai spoke.

"I'll get the other scroll for us if we get separated, ok?" Kousetsu spoke. The other two nodded.

_-I wonder which of them has it? -_Temari thought.

"So I guess we'll see you at the tower then. Good luck." Temari spoke as they left. They waited until they were a safe distance away.

"Should we go after them?" Boutoku spoke.

"No. They have and earth scroll, too." Kousetsu spoke as a bird appeared on her shoulder.

"Did you find anyone who got a heaven scroll that we know?" Yuukai spoke.

"I found a few, but let's get someone that we don't know." Kousetsu spoke.

"That way we can kill them." Boutoku spoke smirking.

"Ok. Break's over. Get to your gates." Anko spoke.

---------Sand Trio---11:58 p.m.---------

"So have you asked her out yet?" Temari spoke.

"No. I don't even like her." Kankuro spoke.

"Yeah, you do."

"No, I don't."

"Doesn't she look pretty without her mask?" Temari suddenly spoke.

"Yeah, she's really ho—wait Hey!" Kankuro spoke glaring at her.

"You can't fool me little brother." She spoke as they waited for the gates to open. "So do you wanna get her or not?" she spoke.

"Fine. You get Boutoku, then." He spoke. They both already knew that Gaara was going after Kousetsu.

"It's 12 o'clock. You may begin." Their proctor spoke before undoing the lock to their gate. The group automatically jumped in and headed towards where they saw squad 3.

"They won't even see us coming." Kankuro spoke as they jumped off. They found the group simply standing there. Kousetsu was sitting under a tree and Boutoku was leaning against it. Yuukai was drawing out an attack plan and telling them how to go about the exam.

"So we'll just head towards the tower and take out some competition. We'll find a scroll, no problem." Yuukai spoke while cracking her knuckles. Without warning, a huge gust of wind came out of nowhere, sending Boutoku back a few hundred feet. Then Kousetsu felt her legs being covered in sand before washing it away and running off. Temari and Gaara shortly followed them.

"Ok? Gaara and Temari are with them, so that means—" she began to speak until she felt a kunai being held to her neck.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: The time thing is going to be confusing because I keep switching back and forth between couples. I'll put times between scene changes so it'll help you understand. I didn't realize how confusing it was until I read the entire thing XD…--Enjoy, Gaarafan0509

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"Don't move." Kankuro spoke dangerously. He then pulled her closer, causing their bodies to touch. He then whispered into her ear. "So what scroll do you have?"

"I don't have one." She spoke in the same way.

"I doubt that, I guess I'm gonna have to search you." Kankuro spoke grinning. He felt her blush as he began to lift up her shirt.

"Teh, sorry but I'm not that easy." She spoke as she suddenly grabbed his hand and turned under it, making the kunai go between them. She then grabbed the arm with the kunai in it and folded it against him, so that the side of the kunai was touching his own throat. She grabbed the other hand and held to her side as she pressed her body against his. "I don't have a scroll, but do you?" she spoke.

"No I don't have it. And as much as I like you leaning on me like this, it's really uncomfortable when you're trying to stab me with my own kunai. Can you let go?" he asked.

"Sure. I doubt that they'd let you carry the scroll anyway." She spoke while looking around.

"And just what do you mean by that?" he spoke irritated. He watched as she giggled.

"I'm just messing with you. Calm down." She spoke smiling.

------------Boutoku and Temari--1:00 p.m. -------

"Come out and fight me, boy." Temari spoke while looking around. Boutoku was hiding behind a tree thinking of a way to escape unharmed. He couldn't hit her, or stab her; she was a lady after all. He sighed and got up with his hands in the air.

"I don't have the scroll, if that's what you want. Kousetsu has it, I swear." Boutoku spoke.

"You're lying." She spoke as she slammed her fan into his body which poofed away, leaving a log. "Substitution? Shit." She spoke before she felt someone knock her out.

"Damn, that was too close." Boutoku spoke before picking her up. "She's heavier than she looks but I guess that makes sense because of that massive fan of hers. Guess I should just head to the tower or something." He spoke as he looked at her.

-_Pretty though. - _

----------------Kousetsu and Gaara--12: 45 p.m. -------------------

Gaara was currently chasing Kousetsu who barely escaped several times. She would never counter, just run away. She suddenly stopped, which surprised him. Kousetsu had stopped at a dead end near a large lake. The trees surrounding them were so thick; it'd be almost impossible to travel through them.

"Why are you chasing me? I don't have a heaven scroll. If you want someone to satisfy your bloodlust, then find someone else!" Kousetsu spoke.

"But you'll do just fine though." Gaara spoke smirking before preparing her in a sand coffin. He reached her waist when suddenly she made some hand signs.

"Ninja Art: Water Dragon Jutsu!" she spoke as a gigantic monster made of water made its way towards him. Gaara quickly created a sand shield but to no avail as the water pressure was too great. It demolished and washed away the sand wall, leaving behind a soaked and very pissed Gaara. She walked over to him and put out her hand.

"Well, you can't fight with wet sand, now can you? How about we not try to kill each other?" she spoke as she held out her hand. He simply slapped it away.

"You bitch!" he screamed demonically as he punched her sending her back a few feet. He watched as she spat up blood, which landed in the wet sand that caused Shukaku to awaken.

-_Her blood is so delicious. Now's your chance, kill her! -_Shukaku spoke. -_I want blood, her blood! –_

_-Looks like you're the same greedy bastard, aren't you Shukaku? -_Toutori suddenly spoke.

-_And you're still the same old bitch. -_

_-I'm no such thing! -_

_-Well you are a bitch-_

_-Ugh. Why do I bother to even talk to you? Screw this, I'm gone. -_She spoke before leaving.

"Shukaku huh?" Kousetsu spoke after getting back up.

"Toutori." Gaara spoke smirking.

"Well my name is Kousetsu Kusabana and I carry the water spirit Toutori." She spoke putting out her hand.

"Sabaku No Gaara. The sand spirit Shukaku." He spoke as they shook hands.

"I don't want to kill you, and you can't kill me. That seems pretty fair." She spoke happily. "Now I wonder where Yuukai and Boutoku are."

"Your team mates?" Gaara spoke curiously.

"Teammates, friends, whatever." She spoke as she stopped to think.

"Friends, what's it like?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" she asked while looking at him.

"To have people care for you?" he asked again. Kousetsu's eyes widened then softened.

"You're still alone, aren't you? I've been there before. It was like nobody wanted me. Everyone cursed me simply because of my existence, I was shunned, and nobody wanted to be around me. I had no friends, no family, just me and myself. But I was lucky; I found someone that showed compassion, as did Naruto. Our sensei helped us, he proved to us that we are indeed people; we just have burdens that were put upon us at no fault of our own. But none the less, we are indeed human, we need love and companionship, but its up to others if they accept that or not." She spoke smiling sadly.

"When I made this tattoo, I promised to myself that I would love myself simply because I was the only one that could. That's the way it's always been for me."

"Well listen up. You're not alone anymore. Starting today, you've made your first friend."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

--Kankuro and Yuukai--1:00 p.m.--

"Something! Over there." Yuukai spoke as she threw a kunai, scaring Kankuro to death. "Wait, now it's over there." She spoke throwing another.

"Dammit woman, will you stop that?" Kankuro spoke angrily as he grabbed her arm, preventing her from throwing any more. "Save your kunai for something more dangerous like enemy shinobi or something."

"I won't need kunai to do that." She spoke smirking. "And in speaking of weapons, what is that thing on your back that you were supposedly going to kick my ass with a while ago?"

"It's really none of your business, although I'm sure I could kill you with it." He spoke smirking.

"Like you could really kill me with some sort of mummified doll."

"Wanna make a bet?" Kankuro spoke smirking.

"Wait, you're not going to seriously try to kill me are you?"

"Of course not."

"Fine. So what's the wager?"

"Anything you want." Kankuro spoke

"You seem very confident. I agree."

"Good." He spoke while unwrapping it. Yuukai looked at it curiously as it began to move on its own. It was a puppet with 6 arms and 3 eyes.

"A puppet master? Don't see those very often." She spoke as she summoned her scythe.

"You don't see many people with a scythe, either." Kankuro spoke as he moved his fingers, causing kunai to shoot out of its hand. Yuukai simply dodged before disappearing into a genjutsu. Kankuro simply released himself and left Karasu there as a decoy. (Yes, I know he does this in one of the movies.) Yuukai immediately noticed this because he gave off no life energy and didn't even contain a soul for her to manipulate. She immediately canceled it, knowing that she'd gotten the wrong guy. She looked up in time to barely dodge a kunai thrown by Kankuro. She backed away, right into Karasu's open arms, which pinned her to its body.

"Let go of me you Pinocchio from Hell!" she screamed.

"If I were really trying to kill you, I would've sent those bladed arms of his right into you." Kankuro spoke. "Looks like I win."

"Teh. I guess there's a first time for everything. I wasn't even fighting seriously anyway." She spoke crossing her arms and looking away.

"Let's see, what to ask for? Hmmm. I know. Let me take you out somewhere." He spoke smirking. Yuukai's eyes widened.

"You're asking me out?!" she exclaimed in disbelief.

--Boutoku and Temari--2:00 p.m.--

Boutoku was currently carrying Temari when she woke up.

"Whe-where am I?" she spoke as she opened her eyes. She looked up to see Boutoku smirking.

"What do you know, sleeping beauty's finally up." He spoke stopping to let her down. Temari blushed at his comment but quickly got over it.

"You knocked me out, didn't you?" she spoke angrily as she went to grab her fan to find that it wasn't there.

"I'm not going to hurt you, but I wish I could say the same about you. I could never hit a girl. I grew up with 3; I'm a softie for pretty girls like you." He spoke blushing slightly while rubbing his head.

"And here I thought that you were some ruthless killer." She spoke sitting down. Boutoku didn't comment back but also sat down. "So what was your name again?" she asked.

"Boutoku and you're Temari, right?"

"Yep. So if Kousetsu has yours and Gaara has ours, then does that mean we go out and still get scrolls or not?"

"Kousetsu told me that she'd take care of it. We could just head to the tower and hang out there. Whatever you want, really." Boutoku spoke.

"Let's head to the tower then." Temari spoke as they jumped off.

_-He's cute. Wonder if he's taken.-_ Temari thought

--Gaara and Kousetsu--1:30 p.m.(You see? XD) --

Gaara just stared at her in shock. He watched as Kousetsu walked over to him and hugged him.

"Friends are special people that care about you. They love you, and want to help you, they love to see when you're happy, and when you're sad, they're sad too. They try to calm your down when you're angry, and help you when you need it. You may not have ever had one of these people in your life before, but now you do." She spoke as she let go and stood back. Suddenly Gaara saw a kunai come from out of the bushes and head straight towards her.

"Look out!" Gaara spoke as the kunai embedded itself into what appeared to be her back. He then watched as Kousetsu turned around to face where the kunai had come from. He noticed that the kunai didn't even touch her, so where was it? He then noticed that a hand made of water had grabbed it and Kousetsu threw it back. She then removed the water from the sand, silently telling Gaara what to do. Kousetsu then walked over to the side. Three ninja suddenly appeared.

"You two punks are going to give us an earth scroll, now!" The leader spoke.

"Sorry, but we're short, we only have two, one for me and one for him." Kousetsu spoke.

"Something's weird about you two. You're from different villages and yet you're working together. Just what are you guys up to?" another one spoke.

"Like it matters, go ahead Gaara." Kousetsu spoke as Gaara smirked.

"You better wipe that smirk off of your face right now, brat!" the leader spoke before throwing several umbrellas into the air. He then shouted out something that made needles fly out everywhere and pummel to the ground causing dust to appear everywhere. When it cleared, however, Gaara was unharmed and safely underneath a shield of sand. He then threw a few more, only to have Gaara block them again.

"I might not be able to get you, but I'm pretty sure that we'll be able to get your friend over there." He spoke as the trio ran towards her. She then ran onto the water on the lake. She stood there calmly as the three surrounded her.

"Picking on a little girl like me? You should be ashamed." She spoke as her eyes darkened. She then smirked the same way that Gaara had previously done. She watched as they took out kunai and held them menacingly.

"Hand over the scroll, or I'm afraid that I'm going to have to kill you."

"Well, I'm not going to hand it over, so I guess you'll have to kill me." She spoke. The three then ran towards her with their kunai in hand. Kousetsu's hands began glowing a light blue. Spikes of ice suddenly appeared, stabbing through them. Blood sprayed out slightly on Kousetsu who didn't react. She quickly removed the scroll from the lead one before picking them up by the spikes. She then threw them back onto the land. Surprisingly, they were still alive, but barely. The ice quickly turned to water and they were left lying on the ground. Gaara quickly finished them off with Sand Coffin. Kousetsu walked over to him and handed him the scroll.

"Here. It's yours; I'll find another one no problem. That group that's hiding over there has an earth scroll, though." Kousetsu spoke, causing the 3 to freak out. Kousetsu walked over and looked through the bushes to see Hinata, Kiba, and Shino sitting there petrified.

"Plea-please do-don't kill us, Kousetsu-san." Hinata spoke pleadingly.

"Relax, I'm not going to kill you, geez. Same for you two."

"You're covered in blood, did that guy hurt you?" Kiba suddenly spoke.

"Nah. He's a friend, don't worry about it." Kousetsu spoke.

"Your dress will be ruined unless you wash it out before it sets." Hinata suddenly spoke.

"You're right. I'm going to go do that. You guys can either hang around or leave, it doesn't matter."

"Well in that case, we'll just be heading to the tower, see you guys." Kiba spoke as they jumped off.

--Squad 8--

"That was close, too close." Kiba spoke sighing as he looked at his heaven scroll.


	13. Chapter 13

"You could tell that they had a heaven scroll, why didn't you go after them

Sorry about the uuber-slow updating. I've developed a fascination with vampires and so I'm writing many stories on fictionpress about them along with many other of my own concepts of storylines. But I'll try and get something up for all of my stories, no promises though. – Gaarafan0509

"You knew that they had a heaven scroll, why didn't you go after them?" Gaara spoke.

"Friends don't steal from others. It's one of the rules." She spoke laughing. "Now let's go find someone with a heaven scroll that I'm not friends with." She spoke. "But first, I need to wash this blood off before it sets. Keep an eye out for anyone." She spoke as she began to remove the sash. He watched as she quickly washed the dress out and then washed her face before standing back up.

"This'll dry out in a few hours." She spoke as she jumped off in search of someone with a heaven scroll. Gaara soon followed. They soon found three ninja simply standing there. "They seem easy enough to beat." Kousetsu spoke as she jumped down on the unsuspecting ninja. "Do you guys have a heaven or earth scroll?"

"Heaven. Do you have an earth?" another spoke.

"Yep. So one of us is leaving with both, then." She spoke.

"Are you crazy, there's one of you and three of us. You don't stand a chance."

"We'll see about that." She spoke as she took out a kunai. She then ran towards him. The others took out their own and charged at her. She stabbed the first one, but ended up getting stabbed in the back by the other two. She gasped then poofed away.

"A clone? So where is the little wench?" he spoke, but didn't have time to look as she came up behind him and slit his throat. She then turned to the others and smirked.

"So are you going to hand over the scroll or not?" Kousetsu spoke as she reappeared and punched one in the stomach and kicked the other in the face.

"He-here!" he guy screamed as he threw the scroll at her and ran off along with the other guy. They didn't get very far, seeing as Gaara, who just happened to be in the mood at the time, decided to attack them with sand coffin.

"The other guy didn't get to live, why should they?" Gaara spoke darkly.

"True." Kousetsu spoke. "Well, we've got our scrolls so let's head to the tower then." She spoke as they jumped off.

--Kankuro and Yuukai 4:00 p.m.--

"Why couldn't you have just asked me out like a normal guy?" Yuukai spoke.

"Because I'm not a normal guy, that's why." Kankuro spoke grinning.

"Yeah, I could tell." Yuukai spoke with a small smile.

"And just what do you mean by that?" he spoke pouting.

"Face it, you dress like a freak." She spoke dully.

"Well maybe I like dressing like a freak." Kankuro spoke.

"I didn't say that you shouldn't, I'm glad that you want to stand out and be original." Yuukai spoke.

"Well, you stand out pretty well yourself. At least, that's what I think." Kankuro spoke.

"How so?" she asked curiously.

"First of all, you're the prettiest girl I've ever seen. And second, you're strong; I could tell that you were holding back earlier. But what I like the most is that you're not afraid to stand up for yourself. You really surprised me when you wanted to fight me when we first met." Kankuro spoke as he saw Yuukai blush. "And the reason why I did that bet thing was because I really wanted to go out with you, but I didn't think you'd be interested. Most girls wouldn't even talk to me." Kankuro spoke blushing slightly. He then watched as she walked over and kissed him on the lips. She then stepped back with a huge blush on her face.

"Well, I'm not like most girls." She spoke mockingly.

"Uhh, yeah I knew that, now umm, let's head to the tower." Kankuro spoke before jumping off. Yuukai laughed and followed. They traveled for a while, taking down any opposing ninja quickly.

--Boutoku and Temari 8:00 p.m. (big jump!)--

"That fan's pretty heavy, how can you carry that around all the time?" Boutoku asked.

"It's not a problem really, I'm used to it. So you've grown up around 3 girls and still came out straight, what are the odds? Do you have a girlfriend?" Temari spoke slyly.

"Who wants to know?" he responded.

"Well, I do, but if you don't want to tell me for some reason then that's fine." Temari spoke sort of disappointed. Boutoku quickly caught on.

"No I don't. I just haven't found anyone worth spending that much time with." Boutoku spoke.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Most guys won't even approach me because of my two brothers." Temari spoke sighing. "It sucks really. Although I've noticed how Kankuro's been crushing on Yuukai, and Gaara was this weird obsession about Kousetsu, so I just wanted to know if maybe we could go along with it and we could, ummm, like—"Temari started speaking.

"Go out?" Boutoku finished for her. Temari nodded and looked at him shyly with a blush on her face. "Sure, if you want to, I don't see why not. Although I've never been asked out by a girl before." He spoke thoughtfully. "You know, it's getting late, so let's camp out somewhere." He spoke as he landed down the ground.

--Kousetsu and Gaara 3:30 p.m. (big jump back)--

They approached the tower within the hour.

"That was easy enough, don't you think?" Kousetsu spoke as she sat down and relaxed. Gaara didn't respond. "You know. If you want to make friends, then you need to change your attitude, try being more social, it'll help you a lot."

"I need time." He responded.

"Yeah, yeah." She spoke with a small chuckle.

--Kankuro and Yuukai 8:45 p.m.--

They had stopped and decided to make camp. More like a fire, and that was about it.

"So who gets first watch?" Yuukai asked as she sat down against a tree. But when she looked over at him, he was already asleep. She took out a kunai and began playing with it. It got boring really fast, so she decided to patch up the hole that she had gotten in her shirt. She looked around before removing it, leaving her in her black, sleeveless mid riff that served as a bra and undershirt. "He better not wake up, damn it!" she spoke as she began sewing her sleeve that had gotten caught on a tree branch. She had no clue that she was being watched until suddenly a kunai came out of nowhere heading right towards Kankuro. She dropped her stuff and was about to grab a kunai to throw when she noticed it was gone. She then went to get another one when she sensed two figures on either side that grabbed her arms and pinned them to the ground with their own. One of them covered her mouth their hand so she couldn't scream, and the other hand held a kunai right at her throat, daring her to make a move. She watched in horror as the kunai hit its target. The hand that covered her mouth let go, but she didn't dare make a sound. The person who threw the kunai suddenly appeared in front of her. Yuukai's eyes widened at the figure that leant over and tilted her chin.

"When I said you looked better with the mask off, I wasn't considering you without your shirt."


	14. Chapter 14

"It's you, the guy from the classroom

"It's you, the guy from the classroom." She spoke. "I don't believe I caught your name."

"Call me Kabuto, now you wouldn't have a scroll on you, would you?" he asked.

"No, I'm sorry but I don't." She spoke.

"Are you sure girly? I hate to kill someone as pretty as you." Yoroi spoke.

"And just who are you two?" She asked curiously.

"I'm Yoroi."

"And I'm Misumi."

"Misumi? Sounds kinda feminine to me." Yuukai spoke until he pressed the kunai closer to her neck. "Ok, I'm sorry, I didn't really mean it." She spoke quickly.

"So should we kill her or not?" Yoroi spoke as he moved the kunai lower unto her shirt.

"Hey knock if off you pervert!" she spoke angrily.

"I don't think that you're in the position to be telling us what to do." He spoke as the kunai went lower; he was trying to get a peek at something. That's when she noticed that Kankuro's limp form begin to move.

_-So that was Karasu then? Good, now to just keep them from noticing-_she thought.

"Why don't you just unzip it, it'd be easier." She spoke while turning to him. He smirked.

"That depends, where is it?" he asked while looking for it in the dim light of the fire.

"You don't see it? It's right down the middle. It's not supposed to show on the outside because then you could see it through the shirt." She spoke.

"Right down the middle you say?" Kabuto spoke as he began feeling for it.

"Quit messing around and find it damn it!" Yoroi spoke.

"I'm trying." Kabuto spoke.

"Ugh. Do I have to do it myself?" Yuukai spoke impatiently.

"No, no, we've got it." Yoroi spoke as he let go of her hand to check out what was happening. He got up and looked over their shoulders as Kabuto finally found it and began to pull it down. They watched as she blushed crimson when they began to slide it off. Suddenly several kunai shot out from behind the, catching them off guard. Kabuto had fast enough reflexes, but Yoroi and Misumi didn't and got hit. Yuukai then grabbed a kunai from her pouch before charging towards Kabuto. She quickly threw it before summoning her scythe to swing at him. She almost hit him, but he threw a smoke bomb, so she couldn't see him. When the smoke cleared, the only one left was Kankuro who was currently staring at her. She noticed that it barely covered her anymore. She quickly zipped it back up before running back to the tree and getting her shirt and quickly putting it on. She wouldn't look at him as she blushed the darkest red, the darkest Kankuro had ever seen.

"Uhh, thanks for saving me, Kankuro." She spoke still not looking at him. He laughed before walking up to her and hugging her from behind.

"Not a problem, oh yeah. You have a very nice chest by the way." Kankuro spoke grinning. That is until he felt her elbow him in the gut.

"Now that I think about it, you could've attacked at any moment, yet you chose to wait until the very last second. Now why on earth would Kanku-kun do that?" she asked with false anger.

"I'm sorry, I just can't help it." Kankuro spoke. "Please don't be mad, please?" he spoke begging. She suddenly laughed.

"That depends, did you see anything?"

"Nothing more than what you let them see." Kankuro spoke.

"Ok. That's a relief. Ok, so let's try this again, who gets first watch?"

"I'll do it." Kankuro spoke.

"You sure?"

"I mean unless you want to, but you kinda suck at it." Kankuro spoke laughing. She stuck her tongue out before walking over to him and sitting down. She then put her head on his shoulder and went to sleep. Kankuro just stared at her before just sitting there. He waited until the sun came up, and then woke her up so he could sleep.

--Boutoku And Temari--8: 15 p.m.--

"Ok, so who's got the first watch?" Temari spoke.

"I do, I went to bed at 6 yesterday." Boutoku spoke.

"Why so early?"

"I got bored, so I went to sleep." He replied.

"Lazy ass."

"Sticks and stones my dear." He spoke. Temari glared before walking over to him and sitting down. She then put her head on his shoulder.

"Good night." She spoke grumpily.

"G'night." Boutoku replied. He waited for her to fall asleep before taking out a certain orange book. He began to read it only to see Temari doing all the "stuff" in there and blushed. He kept exchanging glances at her.

_-Hmmmmm.-_he thought.

--Kousetsu and Gaara 11:30 p.m.--

"And that's how you politely tell someone they smell like ass." Kousetsu spoke as Gaara nodded. He was learning his people skills and seemed to be doing ok. "Hmm, what's next, ummm…" she spoke as she yawned.

"You should get some sleep, it's almost midnight." Gaara spoke.

"I don't really need it, I just need a little water and I'm good for another day. That's one thing I like about the Toutori." She spoke as she took off her backpack and took out some water and snacks. "Catch!" she spoke as she threw the water at him. He caught it and opened it. She then threw a bag of chips at him when he was drinking, causing it to spill all over him. Kousetsu began laughing as Gaara shivered. He then glared at her before walking over and pouring the rest on her. She immediately stopped laughing and screamed.

"C-cold wa-water, is-isn't it?" Gaara spoke while smirking.

"Ye-yeah re-really cold water. S-sorry about th-that." Kousetsu stuttered. She then got up and placed a hand near his chest. Her hand began to glow a light blue as the water removed itself from his clothes. She then threw it over the banister unto someone obviously because they screamed, too.

"Damn kids!" they exclaimed.

"That wasn't very nice." Kousetsu spoke as she removed her own water before throwing it at him, too. The person glared at them before widening his eyes and running off.

--Tower Surveillance--

"Anko, some kids are already at the tower!" a jounin spoke in disbelief.

"They've been there for a while, they got here 2 hours after the exam started." another spoke.

"Let me see who you're talking about." Anko spoke as she turned on the video.

"The Toutori kid and the Shukaku kid? I guess freaks need to stick together." Anko spoke smirking.


	15. Chapter 15

--Next Day 11:30 a

--2nd Day 11:30 a.m.--

"Off to the tower, we go! You've slept long enough!" Yuukai spoke as she woke, or tried to wake Kankuro up. She decided to just sit on his back and think of something. "Got it!" she spoke as she got up and leant over. She then began to tickle him, causing him to wake up quickly and begin laughing. "Wakie, wakie!" she spoke smiling as she stopped. Kankuro looked up at her and smiled, her face was the best thing to wake up to in his opinion. (Awww) Although, he hated to be tickled and so he decided to get revenge. Without warning he tackled her and began tickling her. He watched as she began laughing like crazy.

"Stop it, stop it!" she spoke laughing.

"No." Kankuro spoke.

"Please?"

"Under one condition."

"Anything, just stop!" she spoke.

"Give me a kiss."

"Fine. Come here." She spoke. She was currently pinned to the ground by Kankuro who was leaning over her. He slowly leant down and Yuukai moved her head up. It was a simple peck, but Kankuro really didn't mind. He helped her up and they headed towards the tower. They got there about 7:00 p.m.

--Temari And Boutoku 10:00 a.m.--

Temari woke up to see Boutoku sitting there waiting for her. Boutoku felt her stir and quickly hid the book. She also noticed that his shirt was gone. That was when she realized that he had covered her up with it. This gave her a look at his chest.

_-Six pack, nice-_Temari thought.

"You're finally up?" he spoke. Temari nodded. "Good because I was getting bored. So how'd you sleep?"

"Fine, but why did you cover me with your shirt?"

"You looked cold and I didn't want you to get sick." He spoke.

"Well, wouldn't you get sick?"

"If I did, then I'd just get over it." He replied smiling. Temari blushed before kissing him on the cheek.

"That was so sweet of you." She spoke.

"Uhh, well let's go to the tower, shall we?" he spoke as he quickly got up. Temari laughed and followed. They arrived at the tower about 5:00 p.m.

--Kousetsu and Gaara 4:30 p.m.--

"No that's not them, no, they need to hurry up." Kousetsu spoke as she looked over the balcony at the oncoming ninja. Gaara really didn't care if they got there or not, he enjoyed the alone time that he got with her.

"There's Temari and that guy." Gaara spoke while pointing at them.

"Hey Temari! Boutoku! Up here!" Kousetsu spoke waving.

"Huh? Oh hey Kousetsu. We'll be up in a minute!" Temari spoke as she took out her fan. "Get on." Temari spoke to Boutoku who looked at her crazily. "C'mon you big chicken!" she spoke as she pulled him on it. Suddenly the fan lifted off of the ground, freaking Boutoku out. They got lifted up all the way to the top until both of them jumped off and Temari closed it.

"Took you long enough." Gaara spoke.

"I-I'm sorry Gaara." Temari spoke wearily.

"Calm down, I was joking." Gaara spoke. Temari looked at him weirdly.

"Huh?"

"Look, I don't want you to be afraid of me anymore." He spoke. Temari just stared in shock. She then looked over to Kousetsu.

"Kousetsu did you do this?"

"He asked me to." Kousetsu spoke. "He got sick of being lonely and decided to become less of a big grumpy pants." She spoke laughing.

"Ok, well that's pretty cool. Have you seen Kankuro and Yuukai yet?" she asked.

"No, not yet." Kousetsu spoke as she walked back to the banister to look. She then spotted the two walking towards the tower. Temari walked with her.

"Hey, up here!" Temari shouted.

"Huh?" Yuukai spoke as she looked up to see Temari, Boutoku, Gaara and Kousetsu waving at them. She waved back. "We'll be up there in a minute!" she exclaimed before walking into the building and up the stairs. "Looks like we were the last ones to get here. Thanks to you." Yuukai spoke as she opened the door.

"Well excuse me if I like my sleep." Kankuro spoke.

"You idiots are still fighting?" Gaara spoke.

"Hey who are you callin—Oh Gaara." Kankuro spoke while suddenly shutting up. He watched as Gaara laughed slightly.

"You don't have to fear me anymore, I'm not going to turn on you." Gaara spoke.

"What kind of trick is this?" Kankuro spoke while looking around.

"It's not a trick, I'm serious." Gaara spoke.

"Trust me, he's starting to change, he's not going to be so mean all the time." Kousetsu spoke. "Now, what took you guys so long?" she spoke to both of the couples.

"Uhhhhh." They all spoke while blushing.

"When did you get here?" Yuukai suddenly spoke.

"Yesterday, at about 2 o'clock." She replied.

"Damn, that's some pretty good time." Boutoku spoke. He then noticed the glare that he was getting from Kankuro. "What the hell are you glaring at, make up face!" Boutoku spoke angrily.

"You better not have done anything with my sister you creep." He spoke angrily.

"Well you better not have done anything with Yuukai-kun either!" he spoke in the same way.

"Relax, your morons we're fine." Yuukai and Temari spoke at the same time. They looked over at each other and walked over and sat down on one side of the room. They then began to talk, leaving Kankuro and Boutoku severely confused. They decided to sit on the other side and just chill. This left Kousetsu and Gaara in the middle, with both of them sweat dropping.


	16. Chapter 16 An Update!

"Kousetsu get your ass over here!" Yuukai spoke.

"I'm coming!" she replied. She then turned to Gaara. "Go talk to the guys." She spoke as she pushed him slightly. Gaara then walked over and sat down and listened to what they were talking about.

"So what makes that sword of your's so special?" Kankuro spoke.

"I give it my normal chakra, and then I get enhanced, demonic chakra that's like 10 times stronger." Boutoku spoke. "Now what's with the thing on your back?"

"It's a puppet, I'm a puppet master." Kankuro spoke.

"I tried that once, wasn't really good at it, I use genjutsu when I have to and I know some taijutsu. So I'm pretty well rounded." Boutoku spoke.

"Kankuro, you don't have anything but your puppet, right? What were to happen if it broke or something during battle?" Gaara asked curiously.

"It won't break, I'll be careful with it. I'm working on two others as well."

"I'd have a back up plan if I were you." Boutoku spoke.

"Well you're not me." Kankuro spoke.

"So you and Yuukai are dating?" Gaara suddenly spoke. Kankuro looked at him with a how-the-hell-did-you-know-that face. Boutoku looked at him and glared.

"Listen you, if you dare harm her in any way I'll kick your sorry ass, got it?" Boutoku spoke suddenly.

"Yeah, yeah. I know." Kankuro spoke.

"Oh yeah, Kankuro, Gaara. I'm going out with Boutoku, just wanted to let you know, don't hurt him or I'll kick both your asses!" Temari shouted.

"Same for you Boutoku, I'm with Kankuro, so don't hurt him or I swear I'll beat your ass just as hard." Yuukai spoke. The girls then came over to the guys and sat down. They spent more time just getting to know each other until it was time for them to sleep. The girls fell asleep first and went to one side, and Boutoku, Kankuro, and Gaara on the other side. Boutoku had his face into his book and Kankuro was reading it with him.

"This is genius!" Kankuro spoke.

"I know right?" Boutoku spoke.

"Gaara, get over here!" Kankuro suddenly spoke. Gaara walked over and looked.

"What?" he asked as he sat down.

"Read this." Kankuro spoke as he handed him the book. Gaara began reading until a blush appeared on his face, but for some odd reason, he couldn't look away. He was about to turn the page when Kousetsu suddenly snatched it from his hands. The other two girls stood right behind them with angered expressions on their faces.

"Alright, whose book is it?" Yuukai spoke. Gaara pointed to Kankuro who pointed to Boutoku who pointed back Gaara. The girls sighed.

"Forget it, let's just burn it or something." Kousetsu spoke.

"No! It was mine, please don't burn it!" they all spoke at the same time. They turned to each other and sweat dropped.

"That's it, we're burning it, wait what are we going to burn it with?" Temari spoke.

"I got it. Kousetsu can wet it so it'll rip easily, then you can scatter the pieces with your fan. C'mon let's do it." Yuukai spoke as Kousetsu began to gather water in her hand. The boys watched helplessly as the book got soaked. They cringed when Yuukai began ripping it up with her scythe and then ran to the edge and threw them off. Then Temari took her fan and blew the pieces far, far away. The boys just stood there in total shock, then Boutoku began crying.

"I'll never know how it ends, that was a present from Kuwo-sensei." Boutoku spoke. Suddenly all eyes darted towards him. That was when he realized that he'd said too much, he quickly covered his mouth, but it was too late. He looked at Kankuro and Gaara for help but they simply backed away and waved. "Traitors!" he spoke as the three girls approached him and well, you know what happened after that. Kankuro and Gaara just stood there laughing their asses off as their fallen friend who just got pwned by three angry chicks.

"I wouldn't be laughing if I were you, you're next." Temari spoke as they immediately shut up and cowered as the girls approached them. The same dreadful fate soon followed.

------Fast Forward to Chuunin Exam Day--------

A/N: Ok, I was going to type up the Hokage's speech at the Chuunin exams from the manga, but damn, it goes on for like 7 pages. I refuse to type that, sorry. I already figured out who's going to the final exam, too.---Enjoy Gaarafan0509

"…. Forgive my interruption, Hokage-sama, but…if you don't mind handing the rest of the proceedings over to me, Gekko Hayate, proctor of the third exam." A man with a bandana spoke. He had bags on his eyes, and looked like he was sick.

"…Go ahead." The Hokage spoke.

"Good to meet you, everyone…I'm Hayate. Uhh… before we start the exam. I must ask you all to do something for me…" he spoke coughing.

"Are you sick or something?" Yuukai spoke.

"No." he replied. "Umm…you see… there are some preliminaries to the exam proper…and whether you proceed to the main exam is contingent on how well you manage those."

"Preliminaries?" Sakura spoke.

"Preliminaries, like what!?!" Shikamaru spoke.

"Master Hayate…I don't understand what you mean by preliminaries. Why can't all of the remaining applicants just proceed directly to the next exam?" Sakura asked.

"Well… I don't want to say that the first two exams weren't demanding enough…but the truth is we still have too many applicants." He spoke coughing. "Under the traditional rules of the exam, we have to have a preliminary test to reduce the number of applicants who'll proceed to the third exam. As Hokage-sama mentioned a number of honored guests will be observing you during the third exam, so we must make the exam intense, tight, and fast-moving. Hmm so anyway now that you know something of what it's really all about. Any one who doesn't feel up to the challenge, either physically or mentally, can walk away. Just take one step forward because the preliminaries start now!"

"Now!" Kiba spoke.

"Well, I'm outta here." Kabuto suddenly spoke.

"What!" Naruto spoke.

"Good riddance." Yuukai spoke. Orochimaru noticed her and smirked.

­_-Kabuto spared you so that you could see what is about to become of your village, too bad. And I just can't wait to use that technique I stole from you-_he thought while looking at her.


End file.
